Of Plans and Escapes
by pbw
Summary: "Where are we going after we stowe the bus?" Skye asked, looking paler and paler by the moment. "New York City. It's time to reacquaint ourselves with some old friends."


Nothing is mine. Nothing has been beta read.

Huh, would you look at that? It seems that I have a bit of a series going on...

* * *

"This isn't going according to plan," Phil muttered.

"AC, we didn't have a plan," Skye responded, desperately trying to hack her way into the Bus.

"Sure we did. Our plan was to sneak onto the Bus, incapacitate Ward, perhaps beat his sorry punk ass, and take our Bus back. That was the plan." A few bullets whizzed by them as they took cover behind a building. "I didn't count on Garrett being with him."

"I sure hope Triplett and May are okay," Skye said, eyes still focused on the stolen laptop.

"I'm sure they're fine," Phil said. He slowly edged around the corner to see how they were holding up. His eyes widened as he saw Ward fighting May and Triplett seemingly without breaking a sweat. "Huh. Seems he was holding back on us," he muttered. "Skye, how are you doing with breaking into the Bus?"

"A little busy here Sir. But give me five more minutes, I should be able to disengage the cargo hold," she replied. "I hope Fitz can get his toys up and running. We're going to need all of them to bring down Ward."

Phil glanced back at Skey. "Are you going to be okay with Ward?"

"Yeah," she said and looked up, her eyes cold, "I'll be okay dealing with Ward."

"Okay," he said. Phil made a mental note to ask her what she said to Ward while in his captivity. "I'm going to get closer. You stay here, until I give the signal."

"Got it."

"Good," he said and slipped away from her, gun drawn. _Nothing's ever easy._

Skye was so focused on the laptop that when she finally noticed the heavy silence and lack of bullets, it was almost too late. She heard the crunch of a footfall on gravel as someone was slowly coming up behind her and to her left. With one final keystroke, Skye set the laptop down and pulled out the gun tucked behind her back. She heard the faint sounds of the Bus cargo hold lowering to the ground.

She heard another soft footfall as her enemy crept closer to her. Skye crept to her right, trying to keep ahead of Ward who was tailing her. _Damnit, what happened to the others?_ Skye held her breath as Ward came closer and closer to her. _Don't make me do this, Ward. Don't make me have to kill you._

She heard Ward take another step closer.

Breathe, Skye, breathe. You've got this.

Skye whirled around, gun pointed squarely at Ward's chest as he rounded the corner.

"Skye," he began.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it," she replied, terse.

"I don't want to hurt you," he began again.

"Fine, then stand down. Put your hands behind your back and kneel."

"Skye."

"You seem to like my name so much."

"Skye, please. I didn't want to hurt them."

"But yet, you did. Did you kill Hand? Did you do it face to face or did you kill her like you killed Eric, behind his back and in silence? We all trusted you. Any one of us would have done anything to save your life. But no more."

"Skye, please. Listen to reason."

"No! I won't listen to your 'reason.' You, Garrett, and HYDRA are all a sham. Fake. Imposters. You sell your lies in the guise of trying to save the world. You're not trying to save it, you're trying to break it to your will," she said.

"I don't want to do this," he said as he raised his gun again.

"Neither do I," she replied, gripping the gun tighter.

He didn't say another word as he rushed at her. Skye didn't blink as she pulled the trigger.

"Skye! Skye! Where are you?" Leo cried out, looking for his missing teammate.

"She was behind the building before I left to get closer to the Bus," Phil wheezed as he lay on his side. Triplett and May lay side by side, bleeding and bruised but alive with Jemma tending to their wounds. Off to the side was a bound and gagged Garrett, screaming obscenities into the makeshift gag, his eyes bulging with rage.

"Shut up, Garrett," Jemma said and kicked him squarely in the gut. He doubled over and continued with his string of profanities.

"Can we knock him out?" Coulson asked as he gingerly got to his feet.

"Sir! You need to remain sitting. You probably broke some bones fighting Garrett," Jemma said giving him a stern look.

"I have to help Fitz find Skye," was all he said, staggering to his feet and stumbling towards where he last saw the hacker.

He didn't get very far as Fitz and Skye came from around the building. She was bloody and bruised, same as the rest of them but she wore a haunted look. Phil limped towards them and helped support her from the other side.

"Ward?" Coulson asked tersely.

"Knocked out cold. Bullet wounds to his right shoulder, both knee caps, and his hands," Fitz said. "I left him bound and gagged as well."

"I couldn't kill him," Skye said. "I had him in my sights, but I couldn't kill him. I'm sorry, Sir."

"Don't be sorry. You had mercy on him. I would've killed him," Phil responded.

"Sir, I don't have the equipment to tend to everyone," Jemma said, worriedly. "All of you need serious medical attention. Attention that I don't know where we're going to get if we are all still fugitives."

Phil sighed, helping Fitz sit Skye next to Triplett and May. "May are you well enough to get the Bus in the air?"

May nodded, holding her wince.

"Get us in the air and set the coordinates for central Pennsylvania ," he said.

"That's still awfully populated if we want to remain underground," Triplett said as he got to his feet.

"We need someplace to store the Bus while we heal," he said.

"What about Garrett and Ward?"

"Knock them out, tie them together and once we're in the air, we'll send coordinates to Talbot to come pick them up. That should keep them busy while we make our escape."

Triplett nodded and went to get Ward.

"Where are we going after we stowe the bus?" Skye asked, looking paler and paler by the moment.

"New York City. It's time to reacquaint ourselves with some old friends."

* * *

_Thanks for reading._

_Reviews are nice but not necessary for my mental well being._


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